Bloomberg’s daughter, Peggy Adams team up to rescue dogs from PR

Thirty scared, stray mutts living in poverty on the tiny island of Vieques off the west coast of Puerto Rico were loaded onto a private jet owned by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the eighth richest man in the world, and flown to Palm Beach International Airport on Monday to begin their lives as the luckiest dogs in the world.

“I do it because I can,” said Georgina Bloomberg, 33, the daughter of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose net worth is estimated at $43 billion. “I was put on this planet to do good for animals and I do as much as I can with what I was given.”

Bloomberg kept a low-profile on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport on Monday afternoon, smiling as the dogs were gently taken off her family’s jet in kennels and loaded into vans. The dogs, all wearing bright collars and bows, were taken to Peggy Adams Rescue League in West Palm Beach.

During the 15 days the dogs must remain in quarantine they will receive medical care and then transferred to shelters around the state for adoption.

None of the dogs were aggressive. A few barked but most were quiet and anxious.

All mixed breeds, most of the dogs were medium sized and appeared in good physical condition. Many of the dogs have not been spayed or neutered. They had been rounded up and cared for by the Humane Society on the island.

“They all seem to be really sweet,” said Richard Anderson, CEO of Peggy Adams. “These are very lucky dogs.”

Although Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League is accustomed to caring for strays and unwanted pets — providing services to more than 40,000 cats and dogs in 2015 — the shelter has never before helped rescue dogs from a U.S. territory outside the continental United States.

Bloomberg, who only identified herself as the daughter of Michael Bloomberg after being asked, praised Peggy Adams for taking the dogs.

“I can provide the transportation but without Peggy Adams … it’s definitely team work,” Bloomberg said. She has rescued about 100 dogs since she began her efforts.

The effort is part of a larger program of the Humane Society of the United States, called Humane Puerto Rico, to address the crisis of an estimated 1 million street dogs and embed animal welfare into the fabric of the commonwealth. The program is also aimed at controlling free-roaming horses through a contraceptive initiative.